Ghost of Central and Washington High School

For years tales circulated that a ghost haunted Salina's Washington High School theatre. When the building was razed in 1972 the ghost supposedly moved to Central High.

In 1949 Joyce Diller performed the lead in the Washington High production of Death Takes a Holiday, in which Death spares her character after an auto accident. In a case of life imitating art, the following year Joyce's car collided with a gasoline truck. Tragically, Joyce did not fare as well as her character.

Shortly after her death, students saw her face in the curtains and felt her presence on the catwalks and in the lights. Skeptics claimed, however, that the supposed face in the curtain was just a water stain.

Joyce seems to be a benevolent spirit, as she helps actors with forgotten lines or keeps cast members from falling on stage. But sometimes those who skip school are not treated so amicably.

A popular story claims that the stage curtains were moved from Washington to Central with Joyce in tow. This is unlikely, for the building remained in use for theatre productions after the new high school was built in 1952.